Movie Reviews

ISLANDER

Robbie E. Davis | Maine | 04/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being from the coast of Maine not far from Rockland actually,I found the movie Islander not only entertaining but pretty accurate in its depiction of Coastal Maine and Maine Island life in general. I liked it enough to purchase a total of three of them. One for my son in the D.R. and one for my daughter who is involved in the seafood industry. I also purchased one for myself which I have already watched several times. I recommend this film to anyone who has a fondness for the Coast and Islands of Maine. The acting is real not overly dramatized. YA GOTTA LOVE THAT MAINE ACCENT!!"

Pretty Dark film

Jane M. Davin | Northshore MA, USA | 02/27/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Dark, but fairly accurate - I live near a spot that is a true Maine fishing village, and there are quiet, and not-so-quiet, lobster wars. It's a tough way to make a living, and this movie really does capture it. That being said, there is a comraderie that is portrayed in this film that really exists - they do take care of each other."

Pretty Film

Daniel G. Lebryk | 01/01/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I've thought about this film for a few weeks now, and have concluded that I didn't care for it very much. I struggled with that feeling. I love independent film, the director that works very hard to make a film on a low budget, with new or unknown actors, about a beautiful location, and tries to imbue some altruistic politics into the film.

Islander has all these things. However, two things turned my feelings about this film, the story / script, and the film production.

The positive parts of this film, the location in Maine is incredibly beautiful. The subject matter, lobster men trying to eke out a living in horrible times, is wonderful. The conflict between the Island born natives and the intruding mainlanders is well described. The small man against the world is a classic theme. I would hazard to guess the director had exactly this problem getting this film made.

The weaker side of this film, the story or script was linear and predictable. Early on in the film it is clear that Eben is going to do something wrong and get in trouble. There were too many obvious hints in the first five minutes. Once the deed is done, it is not complicated to know the ending of this film after the first twenty minutes. The story was just too simple and held no mystery for me. Some of the dialog sounded unnatural.

On the film production side there were some pretty big errors. The contrast between rock steady shots and shaky handheld shots was not good. Frequently a good steady shot would be cut right next to a very wobbly hand held shot. The boating scenes were the best. The worst was the melodrama that held those on the water scenes together.

Thomas Hildreth does a decent job as the angry young man, Eben Cole. Amy Jo Johnson, as Eben's wife Cheryl transforms nicely from a caring, dutiful wife to a slut that thinks only of herself and hates her child. You may know Amy Jo Johnson as the Pink Power Ranger, or in Felicity. Philip Baker Hall, a long time television character actor, played a wise old friend of Eben's father. Overall the acting was reasonably decent.

The film is a bit long at an hour and forty minutes. Rated R, mostly for strong language. Although sexuality is listed as the second reason for the rating, I cannot remember any nude scenes. I seem to remember a brief scene with Eben and Cherly in bed, and they are clearly having sex, but I don't remember nudity.

Beautiful scenery, an independent film, good acting, flawed camera work, and a predictable story add up to a decent movie. This is a film that I feel like I've seen before in a different setting."